Kaiser starter Noah Sakatani threw six innings, didn't surrender a hit but allowed 3 runs, two of them earned to pick up the victory. He struck out 6 and walked 6. Tyler Guieb | SL

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SALT LAKE - Kaiser pitcher Noah Sakatani allowed no hits in six-plus innings Saturday, yet it was a rough outing. Physically speaking.

Sakatani and Chase Hisatake collaborated on a one-hitter and the visiting Cougars scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning to snap a 1-all game in a 5-3 win against Moanalua in Oahu Interscholastic Association Eastern Division baseball.

A one out, RBI single by Adam Tanoue off Hisatake in the bottom of the seventh broke up the no-hitter. The hit came two pitches after Tanoue hit a catchable pop up between home and third base in foul territory, but the ball fell among catcher Emmett Covello, third baseman Kamalu Simeona and Hisatake. But Hisatake retired the next two batters, including Casupang's RBI force at second, to end the game.

It was that kind of game.

Though winning pitcher Sakatani walked six and hit a batter, Na Menehune could not get a hit off him. What made his outing rough had nothing to do with pitching at all. Earlier in the game, he was hit by a foul ball when his team was batting. In the big four-run seventh, Sakatani collided with Moanalua's first baseman when he reached on a throwing error from shortstop.

"When I hit the first baseman on the hit, I kind of took a lot on my hip," Sakatani said. "I flipped and hit my head and my hip hit with force. And I forgot what inning it was, I was walking back from getting water, a foul ball was hit and I was hit in the head. At the end, I didn't even know the game was over. My eyelids are kind of heavy."

Sakatani and Moanalua starter Tanner Inouye, who was tagged with the loss, were engaged in a scoreless duel through four innings. Kaiser broke the ice in the top of the fifth when Lincoln Lima reached on a flare double to left. He wen to third when Simeona reached on fielding error by third baseman Jerred Soriano. Lima scored on Logan Scott's safety squeeze that moved Simeona to second. After stealing third, Moanalua pulled its infield in and hit paid off when Hisatake grounded out to short, as the runner retreated to third. The Cougars lost a run on appeal on an apparent bunt single by Keoni Pangan. But Moanalua coach Scott Yamada asked for a second opinion by the home plate umpire, who reversed the call, saying the batter was tagged out.

The call loomed large in the bottom half of the fifth. Kenji Yamaguchi walked with one out and lifted for pinch runner Reyn Oumaye. Oumaye took second when second baseman Kainoa Craig could not field the ball cleanly in his haste to get the ball to second for the force. A wild pitch advanced the runners and Oumaye scored on Soriano's sacrifice fly to right. Sakatani then struck out pinch hitter Micah Nicely to keep the game tied at 1.

After a scoreless sixth, the Cougars broke open the game in the top of the seventh. Emmett Garcia led off with a walk and Inouye was pulled for Andrew Oasay, who started the game in right field. Oasay hit Shawn Miyashiro. Moanalua then squandered the execution of a pick-off play when the pinch runner on second took off for third when Oasay still had the ball. Oasay got off the mound to start  rundown, but Na Menehune failed to get either runner out as both returned safely to their bases.

Simeona flied out to center, freezing the runners. Scott reached on a fielder's choice grounder to short, but Moanalua could only get the force at second to put runners at the corners with two out. After Scott stole second, Hisatake smoked a grounder off third baseman Soriano's glove to for a two-run single to put Kaiser up 3-1. Hisatake took second on the throw back to the infield and stole third with Pangan batting. Pangan walked and stole second. Oasay was lifted for Dez Oki-Takahashi to face Sakatani, who reached on shortstop Enrico's error that scored two runs to make it 5-1 before Casey Takei flied out to right to end the inning.

Sakatani returned to the mound for the bottom of the seventh by walked Randy Tabura on five pitches and ran a 3-0 count on Ryne Oshiro before being pulled for Hisatake, who threw ball four, though the walk was charged to Sakatani. After Soriano struck out, the runners advanced to scoring position on a wild pitch. On a 1-1 pitch, Tanoue hit a foul pop in third base foul territory that fell among fielders. Tanoue made the Cougars pay with an RBI single that moved Oshiro to third, where he scored when Casupang reached on a force at second. The game ended when Enrico lined out to shortstop.

Kaiser first-year coach Ryan Umemoto showed confidence in bringing in Hisatake, who said that was his first pitching appearance of the season.

'I was a little nervous," Hisatake said. "It was a close game. I'm glad it turned out well."

The win lifted the Cougars to 2-1, while it dropped Na Menehune to 3-1.

"We reshuffled out lineup to play more like a team," Umemoto said. "They responded."

Moanalua labored at the plate. It failed to scored in the first when it had a runner on third with fewer than two outs; left a runner in scoring position when it scored in the fifth; and left two runners on the sixth.

"We couldn't make adjustments as hitters," Yamada said. "We have to give (Sakatani) credit; he threw strikes.

"Offensively, we didn't clutch up when we had to. Defensively, we just didn't make the plays at the end."